¶ And I saw, when y• lambe opened one of y• seales, & I hearde one of the .iiii. beastes say, as it were the noyse of thonder: come & see, & I saw. And beholde there was a white horse, and he y• sat on him, had a bowe, & a crowne was geuen vnto him, & he went forthe conque∣ryng and for to ouercome. And when he had opened the seconde seale, I hearde the seconde beaste, say: come & se. And there went out another horse that was redde, & power was geuē to him y• sat theron to take peace from the earth, and that they shoulde kyll one another. And there was geuen vnto him a great swearde.
THe seuen special articles and misteries of y• christen faith maye be opened euē lyke as .vii. seales thorow y• holy goost, in y• holy scripture of y• olde & newe testamēt. As y• excellent clerke Erasmus doth proue by diuerse testi∣monies in his paraphrases vpon the .xxiiii. Chapter of luke. But yet we maye vnderstande the openynge of these seales, after an other maner. First by y• white horse, may be vnderstāde, y• first state of y• christē churche, which was altogether, pure, without blemyshe or faut, & holy, well armed & ready prepared: yea also as swyfte as an horse vnto al godlines. At y• which tyme, y• kyngdome of Christ did most floryshe and increase in y• whole world. He y• sytteth vpō this horse, hathe a crowne vpō him of y• kyngdome of heauē, wt a bowe of y• euangelycal doctrine, wherwith he hath conquered & ouercome blessedly y• errors of ydolatry, & slayne them wt a glorious triumphe & victorye. By y• seconde seale, vnderstāde y• state of y• kyngdome of Christ, in y• tyme of y• martirs, frō the time of S. Steuē vntil the tyme of Cōstantyne the Emperour. Whan as y• churche was paynted with bloode, thorow out y• hole world thorow y• tyrannye of the Romyshe Emperour. Not wt standynge y• at the same tyme also, y• Iewes suffred extreme calamities, & great plages of death vnder the reygne of Tytus, Vespasyan & Adriane. All which maye be sygnified by y• deade horse, & by y• great sworde. For the Romyshe Emperours did cōtinually, slaye one an other, besydes y• diuerse of thē peryshed otherwise also. And this may be wel vnderstādē by him y• sitteth vpō y• red horse.